Class 4 gold medal winner “Marissa” from Carr Valley Cheese is a seasonal soft cheese made with milk from pastured Wisconsin shee[. Its flavor is mellow, complex and sweet— qualities that reminded cheesemaker Sid Cook of his daughter, Marisa. This winner also took 1st place at the 2004 American Cheese Society Competition and 2nd place at the 2004 Wisconsin State Fair.

2006 World Cheese Awards

Best Curds Of The Year

The United States is home to some of the greatest cheesemakers in the world, as it proved at the 19th annual World Cheese Awards*, the most prestigious international cheese competition. The 2006 awards ceremony, held in London on June 14 as part of the Taste of London food show, yielded 43 medals for the home team—nearly one-third captured by Wisconsin, which took 15 medals including six gold, four silver and five bronze. California came in second for the U.S. contingent, with 13 medals including three gold, three silver and seven bronze.

*The World Cheese Awards, held annually in London, should not be confused with the World Cheese Championships, which are sponsored by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) every two years in Wisconsin, generally in March.

The competition attracted 1,524 entries from four continents. Judging is no easy job: 120 experts from around the world evaluate a total of 1542 cheeses over two days. In all, 135 gold, 132 silver and 157 bronze awards were presented to the top cheese producers from the U.S., Europe, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. “The prestige of winning Gold at the World Cheese Awards is close to taking Gold in the Olympics,” commented Bob Farrand of the U.K. Cheese Guild and chairman of the contest.

Grand Prize Winner

A French sheep’s milk cheese, a 10-month old Ossau-Iraty Brebis (brebis is the word for a ewe’s milk cheese) from Fromagerie Agour in the Pays Basque region, won title of World Champion. Fromagerie Agour, founded in 1981 by Jean Etcheleku and run by Jean and his son Peio, also won the top prize in 2002 for their Petit Agour sheep’s milk cheese and has won 11 other medals for their cheeses including two gold.

Only a few tons of Ossau-Iraty Brebis are produced every year by the small family business, located in the lush foothills of the French Pyrenees near the village of Helette It received 90 of a possible 100 points. The judging panel, made up of cheese experts from around the world, said the Brebis was “a privilege to eat,” with both a salty and slightly sweet taste, which “melted on the palate.” It also won the gold in the hard ewe’s milk cheese category, and it’s “sister” 6-month old Ossau-Iraty received the bronze award in the category.

Ossau-Iraty is similar to, but slightly softer than, sheep’s milk cheeses such as Italian pecorino or Spanish manchego. It can be enjoyed with membrillo (quince paste), which is how the Spanish eat manchego.

Second place went to Bradbury & Son’s Defendi Gorgonzola Caravaggio, which won best blue cheese. “The judging was the closest this year that it has ever been in the Awards’ 19-year history,” said Farrand. “The Brebis was overall winner but the Gorgonzola Caravaggio came a very close second. This just goes to show the fantastic quality of the cheese entered.”

Other notable winners included Healey’s Farmhouse Cheddar, awarded the Agri-Expo trophy for Best South African Cheese; the Antigo Cheese Company’s Aged Stravecchio Parmesan, awarded best U.S. Cow’s Milk Cheese; the U.K.’s Bradbury & Son’s Defendi Gorgonzola Caravaggio, which took Best Blue PDO Cheese; and Wensleydale Dairy Products’ Traditional Wensleydale, which won Best English Cheese.

The U.S. winners below. Cheese-lovers may wish to map out a plan to taste as many as possible—perhaps at a series of “taste the winners” wine and cheese parties.